Opinion category, Page 153
Jess Ward and Mattias Gugel: Pa.’s swipe fee cap — more harm than good for small businesses
The latest legislative misstep in Pennsylvania, HB 2394, aims to prohibit financial institutions from charging interchange fees on the sales tax portion of credit card and debit card transactions. While the intent to lower business costs is laudable, the execution is as ineffective as a Hershey’s chocolate teapot. Lawmakers are...
Letter to the editor: We must find middle ground on abortion
Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? The Fifth Commandment is “Thou shall not murder,” translated loosely as “respect human life.” Unborn babies are human lives. Abortion is the killing of another human being. The unborn baby must be recognized formally as a human life before birth. The Democratic left...
Letter to the editor: Look at Biden, Trump accomplishments before voting
Debates are a poor way to determine votes, especially when one side ignores the truth. In the recent debate, President Biden stumbled early while affected by a cold, while former President Trump spouted nonsense with one lie after another. “After-birth abortion?” This from a man whose party is responsible for...
Editorial: Kiski Township should let Sunshine Act clear up Bartolicius’ departure
Residents of Kiski Township know one thing about the resignation of Lee Bartolicius from his position as police chief: Township supervisors accepted it. Do they know why he resigned? No. Do they know if there were problems to be resolved? No. Do they know what he received in a severance...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for Biden — or a replacement
A few weeks ago, I started drafting a letter directed to Joe Biden supporters, via your paper, arguing that, under no circumstances, should they ever vote for Biden in the general election. My argument followed a pure logic channel: 1. In 2014, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claimed Biden...
Guy Ciarrocchi: Rural Pa. can thrive, not just survive
When it comes to rural Pennsylvania, reporters have focused on three issues: the pace of rural population loss, what happens when these communities hit rock bottom and if anything can be done. The last point — what can be done — is the key challenge faced by rural communities. But...
Robin Abcarian: Surgeon general acknowledged America’s gun violence emergency. Here’s why that matters.
Hey, cheer up: The news is not all bad. The federal government acknowledged for the first time last month that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis. You already knew that, of course. We all knew it. But, thanks to the gun lobby’s stranglehold on our political class, it’s...
Letter to the editor: Early morning airport woes
Once again, Pittsburgh International Airport is not doing what is has to do to assist travelers. They are telling people now to arrive three hours before their flight leaves. So, if your flight leaves at 6 or 7 a.m., you have to arrive at the airport between 3 and 4...
Letter to the editor: Biased reporting on debate
Why wasn’t the Associated Press story “Trump, Biden clash over economy, immigration, Jan. 6” (June 28) placed on the editorial page instead of the front page? Editorial opinion ran rampant through this article, leading off with “Joe Biden repeatedly sought to confront Donald Trump … as his Republican rival countered...
Editorial: With or without Chevron, clearer laws are essential
Among the many rulings the Supreme Court handed down this term, a decision on so-called Chevron deference could prove especially consequential. The question at issue was whether the courts or government agencies should determine the meaning of ambiguous laws. The new ruling unsettles a 40-year-old understanding by shifting some of...
Letter to the editor: Protecting our workers
In 2022, the number of preventable work deaths increased 5.7% over 2021. The preventable injury death rate also rose from 3.6 to 3.7 per 100,000 workers from 2021 to 2022. And workplace medically consulted injuries totaled more than 4.5 million in 2022. No elected leader or employer can look at...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 8
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 8....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 8
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 8....
Letter to the editor: Praise for school voucher article
The article on school vouchers was well written and balanced (“School vouchers may make it into Pa.’s budget, but what would they really do?” June 28, TribLive). Kudos to the author! Ron Rodman Murrysville...
Letter to the editor: Biden should step aside
Joe Biden claims this year’s presidential election is about preserving democracy and that Donald Trump is running solely to feed his oversized ego. If Biden truly believes this, then he should step aside. The Democrats would then be able to nominate a practical centrist around whom the vast majority of...
Editorial: Hispanic population growth can build Pennsylvania political power
Western Pennsylvania is not a melting pot of cultures. The people who have come to or passed through Pittsburgh and surrounding communities have not blended into a homogeneous puree of creamy uniformity. And, really, who would want that anyway? Instead, it’s more like a marketplace of skills, ideas, beliefs and...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland County does elections right
What a difference transparency makes. There is a crisis of confidence in Pennsylvania’s elections. There are many reports and social media posts about election observers being denied meaningful observation. This erodes confidence and raises suspicion. I had the opportunity to observe the processing of mail-in and provisional ballots at the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Cicero offers guidance on growing old without giving up
Since I first encountered Cicero in school, my admiration for him has grown and grown. I was drawn even closer to him when I found out the Roman lawyer and philosopher summered in Treglia — ancient Trebula Balliensis — my family’s village in southern Italy. When I suggest to my...
M.K. Swartsfager: A table set for four
We can’t blame our government or the political parties, at least not entirely, for the mess we are in. Most view the government as composed of three branches, but the constitutional system requires not only the legislative, executive and judicial powers, but the constant participation of the people from whom...
Counterpoint: Extreme inequality is the real threat to free speech
I was a student in the late 2000s when I had my first brush with “cancel culture.” A campus group had invited Nick Griffin — a racist Holocaust denier and leader of a fascist British political party, among other charming things — to speak. Many shocked students, including me, called...
Point: Robust speech is necessary for a healthy democracy
Debate is healthy for a democratic society. Vigorous exchanges cause people to confront unorthodox ideas, examine their beliefs and develop informed opinions. Robust speech is akin to exercise machines in the gym: a tool to build democratic muscles and endurance. Unfortunately, in the wake of protests over the Israel-Hamas war,...
Letter to the editor: We should love, not damage, the Earth
People profess without reservation that they love the Earth; that they love Mother Nature. Seems to be true especially when you try to find a parking spot at Ohiopyle State Park. My question is, do you think Earth loves you back? Taking coal buried deep in the Earth, for which...
Letter to the editor: Potemkin presidency
The debate exposed it for all to see. Just like the fake Russian village, we have a fake Potemkin presidency. No press conferences, hiding in the basement or maybe sitting in his beloved Corvette in the garage. And likewise, because they were complicit in the scheme, a Potemkin Washington press...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s lies are worse
I wanted to read about the debate right afterward, so I began the article “Trump and Biden mix it up over policy and each other in a debate that turns deeply personal” (June 28, TribLive), not expecting anything really helpful. Boy, was I right. I only got about three or...
Editorial: Pennsylvania School Boards Association should be subject to the Right-to-Know Law
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association might seem like a trade organization. The name gives the same feeling as other state groups for those with related business, such as the Pennsylvania Corn Growers Association, Pennsylvania Retailers Association or the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania. There are similarities. Each group looks...
